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Rob Lowe is nothing if not candid. In promoting his new book, Love Life (the follow-up to 2011's Stories I Only Tell My Friends), Lowe has been espousing his opinions on subjects as diverse as the relative merits of Justin Bieber and big government, as well as re-enacting his awkward kissing scenes with Jewel while shooting the short-lived TV show The Lyon's Den.
One other revelation that came out of the book — which largely features stories about his wife and sons — is that Lowe feels as though he's been typecast because of his good looks.
"I've been told, as I'm sure others have been countless times, that the way I look precludes me from playing a cop or a doctor or a regular guy," the actor told Fox News. “'A PTA father would never look like that!' Meanwhile I am a PTA father but I've never been precluded from playing an arrogant, rich prick. So what does that tell you?"
There is no denying that the former teen heartthrob and Brat Pack member was, is and probably always will be an extremely attractive man. His looks helped him overcome everything from a sex tape scandal (before that was fashionable) — something Lowe will parody with an appearance in this summer's Jason Segal-Cameron Diaz comedy Sex Tape — to one of the most reviled moments in Oscars' history when he sang a cringe-inducing duet with Snow White.
The reality is that all actors are typecast in some ways based on their looks. Film and television is a visual medium and there's no escaping the fact that a person's appearance plays a role in that. He might not be in the running for some of the roles that Paul Giamatti or Patton Oswalt might play, but they're not going to be in the running for a whole lot more roles that an actor with Lowe's physical gifts would be.
Still, Oswalt's Young Adult costar Charlize Theron has proven that being gorgeous doesn’t have to stop an actor from getting substantial roles. Her physical transformation for Monster was convincing enough that audiences were willing to put aside the fact that she was still more attractive than the real Aileen Wuornos, the serial killer on whose life it was based. The same was true for Halle Berry in Monster's Ball. Men considered just as beautiful as Lowe like George Clooney and Matt Damon have also downplayed their inherent good looks for roles (Syriana and The Informant! come to mind).
In fact, it's easier for most actors to do that — slide into a better looking version of a "normal" person — than it is for actors like Giamatti or the late Philip Seymour Hoffman to be seen as leading men, no matter how talented they are as performers.
While it's true that Lowe earned his way in Hollywood by virtue of his matinee idol good looks, that doesn't mean that it has to continue to define him… just as it hasn't always defined Brad Pitt or Leonardo DiCaprio. If he wants it to change, then he needs to continue taking roles like the creepy plastic surgeon in Steven Soderbergh's Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra.
Lowe has been around long enough that he knows the game and how to work around any stigma that might be attached to his being handsome. It's incumbent on him to fight for a role if he really wants to play it… even if it is just a PTA dad. That's the nature of Hollywood for all actors, not just the pretty ones. It's really hard to find a way that Lowe's looks have been a true hindrance to him, and when he's playing someone's ridiculously attractive grandfather in 15 years, we won't feel bad for him then either.
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The star has crafted out a hugely successful career in Hollywood, mixing independent movies with blockbusters, and picked up a Best Actress Oscar for her turn as serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster.
But despite her talent garnering critical and commercial acclaim, the blonde beauty admits she can't stand "pretentious" actors - and only likes working with low-key co-stars.
She tells Australia's Madison magazine, "I hate actors who come and quote (philosopher/poet Friedrich) Nietzsche. I don't like pretentious s**t. I like being around people who like to live life and understand the value of it. I need to be around people who understand we're not curing cancer here.
"I like professional actors who show up, do the job and are not a pain in the a** to either myself or the crew. I don't believe in this idea that if you're f**ked up... that's the only way to do good work. It's bulls**t. A professional actor does their homework beforehand and they do their job. Then when it's all said and done, they have a beer with the crew. That's what a professional actor does."

The stunning South African star transformed herself into prostitute-turned-serial killer Aileen Wuornos for the 2003 film, which won her a raft of awards, including the Best Actress trophy at the Academy Awards.
And Slumdog Millionaire beauty Pinto credits Theron's performance with pushing her to chase her acting dreams.
She tells Parade, "In terms of wanting to do acting professionally, I think back to Charlize Theron when she did Monster. I was like, 'Wow'.
"Someone as gorgeous as that to go into a direction completely opposite and transform herself into something - as the film says, monster - and to have heart in it, I think it was fantastic and a brilliant job done."

The actor shed 62 pounds (28 kilograms) to play skeletal Trevor Reznik in the film, spending weeks on a daily diet of coffee and fruit to weigh in at a bony 120 pounds (54 kilograms).
Bale's efforts topped a poll by Lovefilm.com, putting him ahead of Robert De Niro, who gained 60 pounds (27 kilograms) for the role of bloated boxing legend Jake La Motta in Raging Bull.
Charlize Theron's Oscar-winning performance as serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster came third, and the top five was rounded out by Daniel Day-Lewis' turn as quadriplegic Christy Brown in My Left Foot and Tom Hanks as stranded Chuck Noland in Cast Away.

"It's in my office, right next to a bathroom that lots of people use in the house. People will come up and be like, 'I just walked past an Oscar.' I'll be like, 'Isn't that awesome?'" Hollywood actress CHARLIZE THERON's 2003 Academy Award takes pride of place in her house. The star won the prize in 2003 for her portrayal of real-life murderer Aileen Wuornos in MONSTER.

New Line Cinema's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, the third and final installment in director Peter Jackson's fantasy epic, continued its reign at the box office with a cork-popping take of $51.2 million* over the holiday weekend. What's more, The Return of the King posted the best Christmas day gross ever, taking in $14.5 million on Dec. 25 alone. The film also crossed the $200 million mark after only 11 days, beating The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, which took 12 days. That's definitely good news for New Line, whose Rings trilogy was a $300 million-plus make-or-break investment for the studio. Combined with the spirited take of four new wide releases, The Return of the King's strong legs also helped make this weekend the biggest Christmas weekend in box office history.The comedy Cheaper by the Dozen triumphed over rival newcomers hitting theaters this weekend, opening in second place with a generous three-day take of $28.2 million. The family comedy was followed by Cold Mountain, which debuted in the No. 3 position with nippy $14.5 million. Aided by its eight Golden Globe nominations and inclusion on many critics' Top 10 lists, the American Civil War drama is on a likely track for key Oscar nominations. Something's Gotta Give, now in its third week of release, placed fourth with $14.2 million, while the new Ben Affleck sci-fi thriller Paycheck, rounded out the Top Five with a foreseeable opening take of $13.9 million. The family pic Peter Pan, the last of this week's wide releases, kicked off in seventh place with a not-so-magical take of $11.4 million.Although this week's four new releases produced a combined first-day box office tally of almost $22 million, Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box office tracking service Exhibitor Relations, told The Associated Press Sunday the industry's total yearend box office revenues would likely fall short of last year's $9.3 billion record, marking the first year-to-year decline since 1991."The end of the year is looking pretty good," Dergarabedian said. "But not enough to jump ahead of last year's revenues ... because 2002 was so amazing."Last year, Hollywood benefited from an abundance of blockbusters, such as Spider-Man, Star Wars: Episode II--Attack of the Clones, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and the sleeper hit, My Big Fat Greek Wedding.The Top 12 films this weekend grossed an ESTIMATED $168.6 million, up 26.39 percent from last weekend's $133.4 million take and up 8.18 percent from last year's $155.8 million.THE TOP TENNew Line Cinema's PG-13 rated fantasy epic The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King kept its No. 1 stronghold in its second week of release with an ESTIMATED $51.2 million (-29%) at 3,703 theaters (unchanged; $13,833 per theater). Its cume is approximately $223.6 million. Directed by Peter Jackson, it stars Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom, Ian McKellen, Sean Astin, Liv Tyler, Miranda Otto, Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan.Twentieth Century Fox's PG rated comedy Cheaper by the Dozen debuted in second place with $28.2 million in 3,298 theaters, with an $8,558 per theater average. In the film, a contemporary remake of the 1950 Walter Lang comedy based on the novel by Ernestine Gilbreth Carey and Frank B. Gilbreth, mayhem ensues as a couple moves their large family of 12 children from a small town to an affluent Chicago suburb.Directed by Shawn Levy, it stars Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt, Hilary Duff and Tom Welling. Miramax Films' R rated Civil War drama Cold Mountain opened in third place with $14.5 million in 2,167 theaters with a $6,691 per theater average. In the film, a Confederate soldier makes the arduous journey from the front lines of the Civil War to his home in Cold Mountain, N.C., where his ladylove has been fighting battles of her own.Directed by Anthony Minghella, it stars Jude Law, Nicole Kidman and Renee Zellweger. Sony Pictures' PG-13 rated romantic comedy Something's Gotta Give dropped one spot to fourth in its third week with an ESTIMATED $11.4 million (+24%) at 2,709 theaters (+32 theaters; $5,242 per theater). Its cume is approximately $56.3 million. Directed by Nancy Meyers, it stars Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton, Keanu Reeves, Amanda Peet and Frances McDormand.Paramount Pictures' PG-13 rated sci-fi thriller Paycheck kicked off in the No. 5 position with $13.9 million in 2,762 theaters with a $5,033 per theater average. In the film, a "reverse-engineer" who has had three years of his memory erased by a multimillion-dollar corporation, tries to piece together his past using a collection of random objects.Directed by John Woo, it stars Ben Affleck and Uma Thurman.*Box office estimates provided by Exhibitor Relations, Inc.Sony Pictures' PG-13 rated drama Mona Lisa Smile fell from its runner-up position last week to sixth place in its second week with an ESTIMATED $11.5 million (unchanged) in 2,677 theaters (unchanged; $4,296 per theater). Its cume is approximately $31.4 million.Directed by Mike Newell, it stars Julia Roberts, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Kirsten Dunst and Julia Stiles.Universal Pictures' PG rated family pic Peter Pan opened in seventh place with $11.4 million at 2,813 theaters with a $4,053 per theater average. In the film, based on the classic J.M. Barrie novel, the Darling family children receive a visit from Peter Pan, who takes them to Neverland where an ongoing war with the evil pirate Captain Hook is taking place.Directed by P.J. Hogan, it stars Jeremy Sumpter, Jason Isaacs and Ludivine Sagnier. Warner Bros.' R rated period actioner The Last Samurai, fell four spots to eighth place in its fourth week with an ESTIMATED $8.3 million (+8%) in 2,557 theaters (-381; $3,273 per theater). Its cume is approximately $74.3 million.Directed by Edward Zwick, it stars Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe, Tony Goldwyn and Timothy Spall.Miramax Films' R rated dark comedy Bad Santa dropped two rungs to ninth place in its fifth week with an ESTIMATED $4.5 million (-11%) at 1,710 theaters (-515 theaters; $2,644 per theater). Its cume is approximately $50.9 million. Directed by Terry Zwigoff, it stars Billy Bob Thornton, Bernie Mac, Tony Cox and John Ritter.New Line Cinema's PG rated holiday comedy Elf fell five places in its eighth week to round out the Top 10 with an ESTIMATED $4.2 million (-22%) at 2,015 theaters (-436 theaters; $2,122 per theater). Its cume is approximately $164.8 million. Directed by Jon Favreau, it stars Will Ferrell, James Caan, Bob Newhart, Ed Asner, Zooey Deschanel and Mary Steenburgen.OTHERSSony Picture Classics' PG-13 rated dance drama The Company debuted in 11 theaters with $96,939, with a $8,813 per theater average.The film centers on a Chicago ballet company--the difficult daily work, the intense pressures of performance and the richly textured behaviors of the dancers, whose professional and personal lives grow impossibly close.Directed by Robert Altman, it stars Neve Campbell, James Franco and Malcolm McDowell.New Market's R rated biopic Monster opened in four theaters with $84,156 with an impressive $21,039 per theater average. The dark tale is based on the true story of Aileen Wuornos, one of America's first female serial killers.Directed by Patty Jenkins, it stars Charlize Theron and Christina Ricci.WEEKEND COMPARISON Last year, New Line's PG-13 rated The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers came in at No. 1 in its second week with $48.8 million in 3,622 theaters (unchanged; $13,494 per theater); DreamWorks' biopic Catch Me If You Can opened in second place with $30 million 3,156 theaters ($9,523 per theater); Warner Brothers' PG-13 rated romantic comedy Two Weeks Notice followed in third place in its second week of release with $15.5 million in 2,755 theaters (unchanged; $5,633 per theater).
Go to our Box Office section for recent weekend movie analysis.

Hollywood beauty Charlize Theron has been hailed an inspiration for gay and lesbian people in America, scooping a top award in Los Angeles Saturday night.
The actress was honored with the prestigious Vanguard Award at the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation's (GLAAD) 17th annual media awards ceremony.
The 30-year-old, who won an Oscar in 2003 for her portrayal of lesbian serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster, was presented the gong for increasing "visibility and understanding in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community."
Last year, Theron promised to postpone her wedding to partner Stuart Townsend until gay and lesbian couples attained the legal right to marry in America.
Theron says, "I feel so fortunate that I am in a relationship with a wonderful man.
"I find it incredibly unfair that because of our sexual preference, we have the rights that we have, and that, because of someone else's sexual preference, they don't have those same rights."
Other winners on the night included Felicity Huffman's transgender movie Transamerica for outstanding film in limited release, lesbian TV drama The L Word for outstanding drama series and NBC's hit comedy Will &amp; Grace for best comedy series.
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Charlize Theron has hit out at claims she chose an unattractive role in new movie North Country (photos) to boost her chances of reclaiming the Academy Award she won in 2004 for Monster.
Theron--who gained weight to play serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster--ams down again in North Country, to play a female miner.
But the actress is angry she has been accused of courting Oscar voters to win nother Best Actress award.
The South African star says, "That's nonsense. It was necessary to change my looks for North Country, because mine workers really don't look chic. When beautiful women change her looks for a movie--like Nicole Kidman in The Hours or Halle Berry in Monster's Ball--that has nothing to do with calculation!
"It's the job of an actress to play other people."
Article Copyright World Entertainment News Network All Rights Reserved.